Chapter 3 – Tonight in Flames

AN

I have to confess, I'm rather fond of this chapter. Not only does Harry and Ginny's little group get yet another new member (and a rather important one this time) but we also get the promised raid on Malfoy Manor and the fleeting glimpse of Mrs Malfoy's chest I mentioned.

Discussion point: were the films rather kind to the villains of Harry Potter ? I mean, there's millions of Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy stories out there, but would they exist if it wasn't for Alan Rickman and Tom Felton? In the books, Snape is a mean-spirited, nasty man and Draco has virtually no redeeming qualities at all, but the films seem to humanise both of them and make them infinitely more likeable. Narcissa is a bit the same, a rather unpleasant, one dimensional character in the books, in the films she has the power to make thirteen year old fan-boys run to the nearest toilet cubical clutching a box of Kleenex.

Arnel currently seems to be trying to break some sort of speed record for beta'ing and, in fact, I think is currently in gold medal position. I bow to her wonderfulness.

Ginny couldn't remember a time when things had ever been so tense within the walls of the Burrow. The house was normally a bustling place of noise and laughter, but today near silence prevailed. Only the ticking of her mother's clock could be heard.

Her father sat across the kitchen table from her with quite the grimmest expression on his face that she had ever seen. Her mother sat next to him with a look of quiet exasperation. Ginny had heard the two of them arguing the previous night and it appeared they had yet to settle their differences.

"Perhaps we could make a start?" Sirius asked mildly from his position on her side of the table. Eva and Harry were the only other people in the room and they both looked rather apprehensive.

"This whole thing is ridiculous," Arthur snapped. "If you think I'm going to sell off my only daughter like a slab of meat you have another thing coming!"

"Arthur!" Molly hissed. "Behave! Don't be so rude to Sirius; we're all here today to discuss this matter like adults, not behave like children."

"But that's exactly it: some of us here are children, and I don't see why we should be discussing marrying them off at their age!" Arthur replied angrily.

"Do I even get a say in this?" Ginny asked in irritation. "You haven't once asked if I want to enter into this Betrothal Agreement, Dad."

"Ginny, you are far too young to know what you want at this stage of your life. I don't have to ask if you want to marry Harry or not; you've been dreaming about marrying the Boy Who Lived since you were about five. No offense to you, Harry," Arthur added quickly.

"With respect, Arthur, we're not talking about them getting married at the moment, merely betrothing them," Sirius pointed out.

"But for what reason?" Arthur demanded. "It seems to me this is all just a ploy to stop young witches trying to slip Harry a Love Potion. I don't see why my daughter should have to be sold into slavery just because Harry has a problem with some star-struck girls."

"Arthur, don't be ridiculous," Molly scolded him. "Haven't I told you just how compatible these two are? I tell you, Arthur, come seventeen Ginny will be marrying Harry no matter what you think. I've never seen a couple who's magic is in such complete harmony. It takes my breath away to just look at them sometimes."

"Fine! I have no problem with that. Harry is a wonderful young man that I would be proud to have as a son-in-law, but let's see if these two still feel the same way about each other when they are of age," Arthur retorted.

"And what happens if some devious young witch does manage to slip Harry a Love Potion?" Eva pointed out. "What happens if Harry finds himself unable to control himself and gets this witch pregnant? He would be honour bound to marry this gold-digger, and these two would both be devastated at missing out at the chance of spending their lives together."

"I don't even know why you're here," Arthur snapped.

"Mr Weasley! Eva is my fiancé and will shortly become my wife. As such, she will become Harry's joint guardian and therefore has every right to be included in this discussion. I would ask you to keep a civil tone when addressing her," Sirius retorted angrily.

"Yes, well… I apologise, Miss Hagen, I was rather rude," Arthur admitted awkwardly. "I just feel I'm being ganged-up on here."

"That's because you're the only one who objects to this, Dad," Ginny pointed out gently.

Arthur stared at his daughter in frustration for a moment.

"Don't you see how barbaric this type of agreement is?" he demanded. "This is exactly the sort of pure-blood rubbish that I've spent my entire life fighting against. Ginny, you've always been a strong, independent girl; why are you content to be sold off for a few Galleons like you're some object?"

"Arthur, that's totally unfair," Sirius interrupted. "Believe me, I'm as revolted by most pure-blood practices as you are, but in this case I'm convinced this is the right thing to do. Additionally, you keep saying Ginny will be sold into slavery, but you haven't even looked at the draft Betrothal Agreement yet!"

"I assure you, Mr Weasley, the document is completely fair," Eva added. "Young Harry will become a wealthy wizard in a few years' time, and the agreement splits everything into joint ownership. When they do marry, it will be a marriage of equals in every sense of the word."

"I love Ginny," Harry said angrily, "and I would never do anything to hurt her. I want her to be happy."

"Trust me, Dad, I've read the agreement and I stand to gain a lot more from it than Harry does," Ginny pointed out.

"Ginny, you're not even fifteen yet. How could you possibly understand a complex legal agreement like this," Arthur replied. "Who knows what manner of unusual clauses and restrictions could be hidden in amongst all the legal mumbo-jumbo?"

"Then have a solicitor check the agreement for you," Sirius suggested in frustration.

"You said it yourself; Harry would be a wonderful son-in-law," Molly pointed out. "Merlin knows, Arthur, no-one is more protective of our children then me, but even I think this is a good thing. Ginny and Harry are made for each other, and this agreement will ensure that they'll be together. I, for one, want what's best for my daughter, and I'm certain Harry will be a loving husband who can provide for Ginny's every need. What more could you ask for?"

"As I said, I have no objection to Harry marrying Ginny, but only when they are of age and truly know what they are getting into," Arthur declared. "Perhaps they should try dating other people just so they know what they might be missing out on?"

The howls of protest from every person present left Arthur in no doubt what everyone thought of that idea.

"It just feels too soon," Arthur moaned. "What does Albus think of all this?"

"Dumbledore? What's he got to do with anything?" Sirius snapped. "Why should his opinion enter into this?"

"Of course his views should be taken into account," Arthur barked. "He is the greatest wizard of the age and he does have a special interest in Harry, after all. Besides, he is the Headmaster of both of them. Would they even still be allowed to attend Hogwarts if they entered into this Betrothal Agreement?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Sirius replied angrily. "Half of the pupils in Slytherin House are party to similar agreements, and yes, some pupils in the other houses are, too, before you start ranting about this being something only a Slytherin would do."

"Besides, I don't give a fig what Albus thinks of this or not," Molly declared loudly.

"Molly, how can you say that?" Arthur gasped.

"Easily! Remember, Dumbledore was the man who sent poor Harry to live in misery with those dreadful Muggles, all on the pretence he would be safer there. Then he starts making disparaging remarks about Sirius's ability to raise Harry and the suitability of his home. You can see what utter rubbish those remarks were, can't you? And look at how Hogwarts is going to rack and ruin lately! Awful teachers, outdated teaching methods and highly dubious safety standards. Don't forget what happened to your daughter in her first year when Albus Dumbledore was supposedly keeping her safe," Molly snapped.

Arthur gawked at his wife in complete surprise.

"Another thing, Mr Weasley, we're pretty sure that Dumbledore knew that a basilisk was on the loose during that time, but he did nothing about it. If the school had been closed and Ginny sent home, the chances were she would never have been taken down into the chamber," Harry added.

With his jaw hanging open in shock, Arthur looked at each person seated around the table in turn, obviously hoping someone would refute Harry's words. No one did. Eventually, realising things had suddenly changed in his safe, secure world, Arthur slumped back in his chair.

"Can I also mention that Harry is an immensely strong young wizard, and as he gets older he's going to become even more powerful? He loves your daughter completely, and I doubt there is anyone alive today who would be able to protect her better than he," Sirius pointed out gently.

With a pleading expression on his face, Arthur turned to Ginny.

"Is this really what you want, little one?" he asked her.

"Yes, Dad, this really is," she confirmed.

"Then I agree in principal, although I do want an independent solicitor to look over the agreement," he confirmed sadly.

A small cheer went up from every one at the table and Ginny leaped out of her chair and hurried over to her father. She flung her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"You know I'll always be your little girl, don't you," she asked him with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, but I guess I'll have to get use to sharing you now, won't I?" Arthur replied rather sadly.

Knowing she couldn't deny his words, Ginny just hugged her father tightly and whispered that she loved him.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"How much longer now, Bill?" Harry whispered.

"We're nearly there," the man replied. "Give us another ten minutes and we'll have overloaded the last ward stone. After that, I'll just need to create a break in the perimeter wards and we'll be in."

Ginny smiled at her brother, relived that they were so close to bringing down the wards around Malfoy Manor. They had already been crouched in the field situated next to the house for a good two hours while Bill and Fleur worked, and she was eager to get going.

"There, we've got it!" Bill declared some time later. "We've ruptured the outer wards and you should be safe to enter now. Just be careful, okay?"

"I'll be fine, big brother," Ginny told him, planting a light kiss on his temple. "Just make sure the wards don't close behind us."

Bill grunted as Ginny, Harry and Tonks all slipped through the small, iron gate situated at the back of the Malfoy property. There had been tremendous debate about who would actually enter the manor, but, in the end, as Ginny was the only one who knew exactly what they were looking for it had been decided she had to go in, which pretty much guaranteed that Harry would be accompanying her. Tonks had also been included as she was a veteran of numerous raids on former Death Eater properties, and her experience was vital. Bill and Fleur would remain on the perimeter to ensure the gap in the wards remained in place, while Sirius, Remus and Eva were hiding nearby in reserve should they be required. Percy was also working late at the Ministry and was keeping his communication mirror handy should things go badly wrong and they needed to summon Aurors.

The three person raiding party moved stealthily across the perfectly manicured lawn under cover of Harry's Invisibility Cloak. The rear gardens were extensive and it took a good five minutes to make their way past the wonderfully scented flower-beds, the fantastically-crafted topiaries and the exquisite water-garden. Ginny could only marvel at the opulence that the Malfoy's lived in, even if the gardens felt too stiff and structured to her. She much preferred the wild flowers and chaotic nature of the land around the Burrow.

They were just approaching the extensive paved patio area at the rear of the manor when a loud cry suddenly sounded from their right. Harry turned sharply and fired off a quick Silencing Charm before Ginny even had a chance to react.

"Bloody peacocks," Harry muttered. "I guess they're not here just for show."

"Yeah, they make a good alarm birds, don't they?" Tonks agreed quietly. "Good reactions, Harry. It doesn't look like anyone heard anything."

Ginny looked up at the imposing manor house and was relieved that there appeared to be no signs of movement from within it. No one seemed to have heard the bird.

"Come on, we haven't got all night," Harry said, urging them on.

They soon reached the back of the house and approached the French windows that were situated there. Tonks knelt in front of them and began casting Magical Detection Spells.

"There's just some simple Locking Charms on these," she whispered. "The Malfoys must have assumed no one would get through the wards. I'll have these doors open in a jiffy."

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there was an audible click and the door swung open. As they needed to move independently in the house, Harry shoved his cloak into a pocket in his jacket and they cast Disillusion Charms on themselves before quickly entered the building. The room they entered appeared to be an opulent drawing room filled with expensive-looking antique furniture and numerous portraits mounted on the walls. Most of the occupants of the pictures appeared to be asleep, but Ginny was glad they had decided to make themselves invisible, anyway.

They crept across the room and carefully made their way through the oak-crafted door situated on the far wall. They then found themselves in a lavish entrance hall with a grand, sweeping staircase to their right. Exactly where they wanted to be!

"Dobby's map was spot on," Tonks whispered. "There's the staircase. The Malfoy's library should be on the second floor, so let's go."

Fortunately for the three raiders, the Disillusion Charm created a slight blurring effect when moving, so they were able to keep track of each other. Cautiously, they headed up the staircase with the thick, plush carpeting masking their footfalls. They had just reached the landing and were about to mount the second set of stairs to the next level when suddenly a door opened nearby. They all instantly frozen and held their breath.

"Do you have to go so soon, darling?" a husky female voice asked. "After all, it's not like Lucius is going to discover us."

"I must, Cissy, my love," a male voice with a distinct French accent replied. "I must return home soon and I have much to do beforehand. Besides, you don't want your son to find out I'm here, do you?"

"I suppose not," the woman whom Ginny recognised as Narcissa Malfoy replied, "but I hate this charade. Lucius has had enough lovers over the years and I've never said anything. Hopefully, the Ministry will execute the bastard and we can be together forever."

The man lunged forward and pulled Narcissa into a passionate kiss, his hands roaming over her body. It was only at this point that Ginny realised that Narcissa was stark naked. The blond woman began to desperately pull at her lover's clothing and Ginny urgently averted her eyes, hoping that she wasn't about to witness Draco's mum getting shagged right in front of her.

"I… suppose I could stay… a… little longer," the man gasped and, mercifully, allowed himself to be dragged back into the room by Narcissa. The door closed and Ginny silent said a prayer to whatever deity it was that had spared her eyesight and sanity.

"Well, it looks like cousin Cissy isn't too upset that her husband is in prison," Tonks sniggered quietly.

"Do we know who that bloke was?" Ginny asked in a whisper. "That might be useful blackmail material."

"Sorry, I haven't a clue," Tonks replied. "Did you recognise him, Harry?"

"What?" Harry squeaked.

"Oh, forget him, Tonks," Ginny said in a slightly disgusted voice. "He just got to see a pair of boobies. His brain will probably be mush for at least another hour."

"Oi, I resent that," Harry muttered. "No, I didn't recognise him, but from where I was standing, I only saw the back of his head and, no, I didn't see Mrs Malfoy's boobies either, thank you very much."

"Oh, never mind, Harry. Perhaps you can convince Ginny to show you hers later," Tonks giggled.

"Can we please focus?" Harry replied in a strangled voice causing both girls to chortle. "We're in the middle of a burglary here. I think we need to concentrate on the matter in hand!"

With both Ginny and Tonks grinning madly, they followed Harry as he continued up the stairs and then took a sharp left. They then continued down the corridor until they reached the third door. Harry cast a Detection Spell on the door handle before gently opening the door.

"This is it: the library," he informed the two ladies.

"Great. You and Ginny get busy and I'll keep watch out here," Tonks instructed them.

Ginny followed Harry into the dark library and looked around her. The place was larger than she expected and must have contained hundreds, if not thousands, of books. She sighed and pulled out a bag from her pocket.

"You start on the left and I'll work from the right," Ginny told her boyfriend and immediately headed off towards the furthest shelf of books. Casting a Wand-Lighting Charm she began to scan the titles for anything useful.

Knowing time was not on their side, Ginny worked as fast and she could and dropped any book that might look useful into her bag, which had been equipped with an Undetectable Extension Charm just for the occasion. As she finished looking over the first shelf and moved onto the next, she realised with a sinking feeling that all the books she had seen so far had been fairly standard titles that you could buy in any good bookshop. She hurried scanned the titles of the next row before moving on. By the time she had finished examining the next shelf, she knew they were wasting their time here.

"Harry," she hissed. "I don't think what we're after will be here. These titles are all pretty run-of-the-mill."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Harry replied, emerging suddenly next to her. "I think they must hide all the juicy stuff somewhere else."

"But where? The only hiding place that Dobby knew of was that hidden cellar under the drawing room, but that's already been exposed. Hell, Dad's been down there, for pity's sake. I can't imagine they would still use that to hide anything important," Ginny pointed out.

"Yeah, but didn't Percy say that Malfoy got a Ministry exemption for a lot of his books? Maybe they just keep stuff that's a bit dodgy, but not actually illegal, down there?" Harry suggested.

"It's worth a look," Ginny agreed. "Let's grab Tonks and head down there."

They swiftly headed back down to the ground floor, thankfully without any unexpected interruptions this time, and quickly found the drawing room. After some searching, they found the secret trapdoor that led to a set of steep stairs which descended into darkness. Once again, Tonks remained at the entrance as a guard, while Harry and Ginny headed down the stone stairs, into the hidden cellar.

"Lumos!" Ginny called and immediately they were bathed in light. They found themselves in a cold, stone passageway the led to a metal-gated door at the end. They hurried forward, conscious that the night was drawing on.

"What's in there?" Harry asked as Ginny opened the gate and stepped through.

"It looks like an empty cellar," she replied in disappointment. "There's nothing here."

"Damn, I thought this would be the perfect place to hide stuff," Harry lamented. "Let's have a look around just to be sure."

"Maybe they moved all the valuable items to their vault in Gringotts," Ginny speculated. She knew full well that they wouldn't have time to search the whole house and after all the effort they had put in to get into the place, it seemed a bitter blow.

"It's possible I…" Harry started to say, but then paused. He started to gently rock backwards and forwards on the spot he had just stepped.

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked him.

"Loose paving slab," he informed her. "Putting stuff under the floor was always my favourite hiding place when I was at the Dursleys. I would have starved if I couldn't have hidden your mum's care packages under the floor of my bedroom. I wonder…"

Harry dropped to his knees and with his hand brushed the area in front of him clean. He then pulled a small knife from his pocket and inserted it into a crack between the slabs. Using the blade as leverage, he managed to prise the paving slab up and a grin of triumph instantly appeared on his face.

"There's another set of stairs under here," he explained, pulling several more slabs up. "They lead to a door."

"Brilliant, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed. "I would never have thought to look for another hidden passageway down here."

Soon, the gap had been widened sufficiently that they could head down the short set of stairs. The door was locked, but they managed to open it with a couple of simple spells. The door opened to reveal a small room filled with boxes of all shapes and sizes and, to their delight, several rows of books stacked against one wall.

Ginny hurried over to the books and quickly scanned the titles.

"This is what we were after!" she announced happily. "I don't recognise all the titles, but some of these are definitely Dark Magic. Highly dangerous Dark Magic, I should add!"

"Great! Let's grab them all and get out of here," Harry urged and began to pull the books of the shelves and drop them into his bag.

"You do that and I'll just have a quick look round to see if there's anything else useful," she told him, and started to look through the boxes littered around the room.

Most of the boxes she opened contained Dark artefacts and Cursed items that she left well alone. It was after several minutes of searching that she found something that definitely caught her attention.

"Harry, look at this," she said in delight, pulling an exquisite ruby pendant from a box and holding it against her chest for Harry to admire.

"Wow, that must be worth a fortune," Harry gasped as he peered at the pendant.

"Yeah, and there's loads more jewellery in these other boxes, too. In fact, I'd say there's a small fortunate in here," Ginny noted smugly.

A small grin came onto Harry's face. "Are you thinking of nicking it?" he asked.

"You bet! I know the Ministry is likely to seize a lot of the Malfoy's assets, but they aren't likely to know about this stuff, are they? Besides, I know we're fighting Voldemort because he's evil and all, but there's no saying that we can't beat him and get rich doing it, is there?" she reasoned.

"I'm not sure everyone will see it that way," Harry laughed. "I doubt Hermione would agree, for instance."

"Well, that's up to her," Ginny sniffed. "I say we share this stuff out amongst the group and if Hermione feels the need to donate her share to charity or something that will be her choice."

"You do know that on my inheritance I will become a fairly wealthy wizard, don't you? You remember that all that money will be jointly yours, right?" Harry pointed out.

"I do remember, but I think the important word there is 'fairly'. Just think, we could sell a few of these pieces off and we probably won't have to worry about working for the rest of our lives," she replied.

"But what would we do all day?" Harry asked. "I get bored if I have nothing to do for an afternoon, let alone for the rest of my life."

"Harry, don't you see? This would mean we could do anything we wanted! We could explore the world, we could research obscure and wonderful branches of magic, or we could form our own business if we wanted! We could literally do anything! Plus, we could have plenty of time for lazing about on some exotic beach somewhere. I seemed to recall you quite liked that idea," she teased.

"That does sound nice," he admitted.

"So, you're okay with me taking this stuff?" she asked.

"Oh, of course! We almost have to nick it, if only to keep it out of the Malfoys' hands," he grinned. "Here, I'll hold your bag open and you can load it up."

Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Ginny made their way back up the stairs to where Tonks was waiting.

"Did you find what we need?" Tonks asked eagerly.

"I think so, we certainly found the Malfoys' collection of Dark Magic reference material," Ginny confirmed.

"Great, let's get out of here," Tonks advised before starting to turn away.

"Wait! There were a lot of cursed items still down there that I'm not happy with the idea of just leaving," Harry said. "What do you say we start a fire down there as we leave? That should destroy all those objects and would also mean that no one would know if anything was missing."

"Actually, that's a really good idea," Tonks agreed.

"Hold on a tick," Harry said, before vanishing back down the steps. A few moments later he re-emerged with a wicked grin on his face.

"I think we'd better get out of here fast," he told them. "One Incendio Spell was enough to send all those boxes down there up like it was Bonfire Night."

"Then let's get a shift on," Ginny agreed and they made a rapid exit out of the house. They had nearly reached the back gate where Bill had created the hole in the wards when Ginny stopped suddenly and looked back.

"Bloody hell, Harry, how much power did you put into that Incendio Spell?" she asked.

"Why do you… bugger me!" Harry exclaimed as he glanced back over his shoulder.

A significant amount of the ground floor of Malfoy Manor was now engulfed in flames and they could just hear cries of alarm coming from the house.

"Shit! They'll be lucky if the whole place doesn't go up," Tonks exclaimed.

"Yeah, that would be a dreadful shame, wouldn't it?" Ginny smirked.

"Err, I think I may have overdone it a bit," Harry mumbled.

"I knew you were hot stuff, Harry, but this is something else," Tonks joked.

"Can we please just get out of here?" he begged.

With a malicious grin on her face, Ginny followed the other raiders back through the gate to where the others were waiting, the faint jingling noise coming from her bag making her skip with happiness.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next day, Sirius, Harry and Ginny left Grimmauld Place early so they could make their appointment at the Ministry of Magic. Madam Bones had insisted that she meet with Harry again after Lucius Malfoy's trial, and they were now honouring that agreement.

They arrived at the Ministry in good time and entered the Atrium, where Ginny noticed they had yet to repair the Statue of Magical Brethren. Personally, she hoped they just binned the whole thing and stuck a simple, plain fountain there. She rather liked fountains.

They made their way to level two and quickly located Madam Bones's office. On stepping through the door, they encountered a stern faced secretary who instructed them to take a seat while she informed the Head of the Department that they had arrived. Mercifully, Bones didn't keep them waiting long and they were soon ushered into the woman's large but rather austere office.

"Thank you for coming," Madam Bones greeted them as soon as they took a seat. "I am rather surprised to see this young lady accompanying you. Who is this child and why is she here?"

"This young lady is Miss Ginevra Weasley," Sirius replied stiffly. "She and my godson are shortly to be entered into a Betrothal Agreement, and, as such, we are involving her in all of Harry's affairs."

"Unlike some pure-blood families, I believe my wife should be my equal, not my slave," Harry added hotly. "I intend to consult her on all major decisions I make."

"Very commendable," Madam Bones replied, eyeing Ginny with interest. "Of course, Miss Weasley here was by your side when you battled Malfoy and that giant snake, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she was," Harry confirmed guardedly.

"Interesting," Bones muttered. "Very well, Miss Weasley will be included in our discussion."

"Before we start, can I ask how the interrogation of Malfoy is going? Has a sentencing date been set yet?" Harry asked.

"No, not yet," Bones admitted. "Frankly, we're obtaining so much information from him and his fellow Death Eaters that it's taking some time to investigate it all. Obviously, I can't say too much, but I will tell you that the crimes he has actually been charged with are just the tip of the iceberg. He's already looking at a life sentence; it remains to be seen if his offences will warrant an execution."

"I hope they do," Ginny snapped before she could stop herself.

"Miss Weasley has had some run-ins with Malfoy in the past," Sirius said quickly, noting Bones's raised eyebrows. "I don't know if you are aware of her history…"

"She was the young girl that was possessed and forced to open the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts a few years ago, wasn't she?" Bones injected.

"Ah, I should have known you'd be well informed," Sirius said, smiling appreciatively. "You are quite right, but more to the point, we have reason to believe the object used to possess her was given to her by Lucius Malfoy. You can perhaps understand her desire to see the man punished?"

"Malfoy mentioned something about some mysterious diary during interrogation. I take it this was the object used?" Bones pressed.

"Yes, it was," Ginny confirmed. "I was completely unaware it had been slipped into my pile of books by Malfoy. I just thought it was a gift from my parents. The damn thing nearly got half a dozen pupils killed, me included."

"We'll look into this matter in more detail," Bones promised, making some notes on the parchment in front of her. "I would for the moment, however, like to press on with the matter in hand, namely this blasted prophecy and Mr Potter's involvement with it. I've already had Albus Dumbledore seeking me out to assure me that it is of no significance, but I want to be certain. I find it rather suspicious that Dumbledore seems to have started to down-play its importance suddenly. Tell me, Mr Potter, how positive are you that Voldemort will not return?"

Ginny noted Harry shifting uncomfortably in his chair and she didn't blame him. This stern witch was extremely blunt and to the point, and it was becoming clear she was nobody's fool. Bones was obviously well informed and would be very hard to deceive.

"Well, I can't say for certain…" Harry replied vaguely.

"Your best guess, then," Bones said intently.

"Wait a minute," Ginny interrupted. "Just what are your intentions here? Let's imagine that Harry says that Voldemort isn't totally gone, that he might find a way to return one day, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to try and make him a ward of the Ministry, or something?"

"No, Miss Weasley, it would not be my intention to do that," Bones admitted, "although it would raise a lot of questions that I would want answering. If Mr Potter is the only person who can vanquish Voldemort and, hypothetically speaking, the Dark Lord was able to return, I would want to know that he was being adequately prepared to meet him. I'm fully aware that young Harry here is a skilled duellist and has an excellent knowledge of Defence Against the Dark Arts, but I'm not sure that would be enough."

"Did that information come from your niece?" Harry asked with a smile.

Ginny huffed. Susan Bones was a busty, strawberry-blond girl who seemed to pay Harry far too much attention during H.D.A. meetings. The girl was heading for a major Bat-Bogey Hexing if she carried on that way, Ginny decided.

"Yes, it did, and I'm sure Susan will be just devastated to hear that you are shortly to be betrothed, Mr Potter," Bones said with a small grin. "Nevertheless, you can understand my concerns about your training and education, can't you?"

"I can assure you Harry is receiving the finest education available, and I don't just mean from Hogwarts," Sirius informed her.

"Yes, I understand Mr Potter has been quite vocal about the standards at Hogwarts," Bones noted. "I must confess, I was somewhat startled when you appeared to throw your support behind Dolores Umbridge and her campaign to instigate changes at the school, but it does appear to have yielded quite a few improvements."

"Yeah, it was going well until Umbridge started torturing my friends," Harry growled. "I was shocked to find the evil woman had been doing similar things here at the Ministry for years. Why wasn't she thrown in prison years ago?"

Bones sighed. "For the simple reason that the woman was too powerful and had too many influential friends," she admitted. "I was aware that Umbridge was a cruel woman, but as no one had made a formal complaint about her, my hands were tied."

"You know, the more I learn about the Ministry, the more I distrust it," Harry said grimly. "It seems this place is just riddled with corruption and cruelty. Does anything get done around here without a bribe being paid, or someone agreeing to do someone else a favour?"

"It certainly doesn't seem like it, sometimes," Bones admitted wearily. "I'm not going to lie to you, Mr Potter, the Ministry has major problems. During the last war, Voldemort succeeded in infiltrating it pretty thoroughly, and only a fraction of his supporters were ever brought to justice. Time has permitted these… undesirables… to fortify their position in government, with everything that entails. There is certainly an undercurrent of pure-blood superiority with the walls of this building, coupled with a culture of corruption, blackening the very heart of the Ministry."

"Then why don't you do something about it? You're head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; routing out this sort of behaviour is your job!" Ginny demanded.

"Don't you think I've tried, child?" Bones snapped. "Sadly, the current Minister has blocked most of my attempts to reform the Ministry. As it is, my department is woefully undermanned and my budget is being reduced every year. I'm afraid Minister Fudge sees the DMLE as a personal bodyguard for him, and little else."

"And if Fudge is removed from office, as looks likely at the moment? What happens then?" Sirius asked.

"That would depend entirely on his successor," Bones admitted. "I wouldn't write Cornelius off just yet, however. He is a man skilled at political survival and he has many allies within the Wizengamot."

"Well… we might be able to help in that regard," Sirius said warily while glancing at Harry and Ginny. Both the teenagers nodded at him encouragingly. Seeing their agreement, Sirius pressed onward.

"You see, Madam Bones, some information has come into our possession very recently that Minister Fudge may have appropriated substantial funds from various Ministry building projects," he explained. "Recent events made Harry and I somewhat concerned about the support we had previously given Cornelius, so we did a bit of digging into his affairs. We were able to obtain documentation that proves that within the last four years he has diverted over one hundred and fifty thousand Galleons from authorised building projects into his own purse. We would, of course, be more than happy to turn this information over to you."

"You have actual proof?" Bones exclaimed. "I've been convinced that funds were being misappropriated for ages, but I've been unable to find anything to confirm my suspicions. How did you get this information?"

"An anonymous source, I'm afraid," Sirius lied. "I regret I don't have the documents on me, but if you would like to visit my residence in Islington tonight, I'll turn all the information over to you."

Bones's eyes narrowed as she stared intently at Sirius.

"Why do I find it suspicious that this information just happened to turn up at this exact moment?" she speculated. "I'm not sure that I completely trust you, Mr Black. What are you after exactly?"

"Me? Very little," Sirius admitted. "I have money, a wonderful fiancé that I'm due to marry in just a few short weeks, and a godson that I couldn't love more if he was my own son. Personally, I'm extremely content. However, it's Harry and Ginny's future that I'm trying to ensure is bright and fruitful."

"Explain," Bones said sharply.

"This society of ours is rotten to the core," Sirius spat. "Crooks and murders are running the whole show and common, decent witches and wizards are being lied to about it through the press. I got a taste of that first-hand when I was thrown in Azkaban without even the hint of a trial. Even the supposed leaders of the light are incompetent. Albus bloody Dumbledore has sat on his bony arse while the world falls apart around him, preaching about forgiveness and redemption. Well, no more! I want a world where Harry and Ginny can live a decent, happy life without psychopathic Dark Lords, corrupt Ministers or even senile old Headmasters trying to screw them over. That's what I want!"

"A noble aim," Bones agreed, "but how do you propose to achieve that?"

"Primarily by putting the right people in the right job and ensuring that those that are intent on doing evil are punished. Umbridge is in Azkaban where she belongs and hopefully Fudge will be joining her soon, which is a promising start, but far more needs to be done. But tell me, Madam Bones, if Fudge is ousted, who do you think will be the next Minister?" Sirius asked.

"At this exact moment, I would probably guess that Rufus Scrimgeour would take the position. He's been actively seeking the job for some time and has a lot of support throughout the Ministry. I suspect that support would increase if Fudge is taken out of the picture," Bones replied thoughtfully.

"And what sort of man is this Scrimgeour?" Harry asked. "Would he make a good Minister for Magic?"

"I think he would be… adequate," Bones replied hesitantly. "Rufus is very much a political animal and likes playing the game. I'm sure he would fit in very nicely."

"Then he's not the man that we want," Sirius said decisively. "We want someone who would change the system, not play by its rules."

"Do you now?" Bones said in amusement. "So, who do you suggest instead? Yourself?"

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh while Harry and Ginny both chortled at the very idea.

"Me? Oh, Madam Bones, you must have taken leave of your senses," Sirius chuckled. "No, we were thinking of someone with the drive and integrity to turn this rotten Ministry upside down and put it to rights. Someone who has an inherent sense of decency and who won't let power go to their head. Someone like you."

"Ah, I was wondering where this was going," Bones said without much surprise. "I had a feeling this was where you were driving the conversation as soon as you started talking about bringing Fudge down. While the Minister's post is a job I would readily accept, I fear my reputation as a hard-liner would ensure I was never elected. I've never been interested in playing political games, and have never made the effort to court the allies and supporters required to secure the position. There really is no point in me running for election."

"Not even with the full backing of the Boy Who Lived?" Harry suggested. "I only had to make a few favourable comments about Fudge in the press and his approval rating increased massively. For you, I'd give my full backing and I'd be prepared to campaign for you."

"Well… that would certainly help public opinion, but that would count for little with the members of the Wizengamot who would be the ones to actually vote in the new Minister. Fudge has been spreading gold around like it was water for years and Scrimgeour comes from a pretty wealthy family, so he'll be following suit. I simply don't have the financial means to compete with that, even if I was prepared to stoop to that level," Bones objected.

"Then I will fund your campaign," Sirius declared. "Scrimgeour might be well off, but the Blacks are one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the country. If I have to grease a few palms, so be it."

"Besides, we have some pretty good intelligence gathering resources," Ginny added. "Threatening to expose any wrong-doings we might find may be a better way to approach the Wizengamot members rather than throwing gold at them."

Bones stared at them intently. "Why is this so important to you all?" she asked. "You make it seem like it's a matter of life or death. Why would you… oh, Merlin! I think I understand! All this talk about securing the future… I was right, wasn't I? Voldemort isn't gone for good, is he?"

"No, he isn't," Harry admitted. "As I hinted at during the trial, he exists in spirit form at the moment; a wretched wraith that will eventually attempt to find a new body and return to carry on with his reign of terror."

"It might be years before he returns or it might be next week," Ginny added. "Frankly, we weren't expecting him to possess that bloody snake, but our money is on it being some considerable time before he has the strength to attempt to gain human form again."

"But to attempt that he will need the help of his followers," Sirius continued. "You asked us what we wanted out of all this, well, I'll tell you. We want a Minister who will return the Aurors back to their proper strength and numbers. We want someone who will actively crack down on the former Death Eaters and ensure they are properly punished. We need someone who will help change the ridiculous pure-blood attitudes of this country and cut off any future support for Voldemort."

"It's vital Voldemort's support base is eliminated," Ginny insisted. "That means rounding up anyone with a Dark Mark, confiscating their wealth, and either executing them or locking them up in a place they can't escape from. The Dementors will always side with Voldemort and can't be relied on, so they need to go, too."

"What about Voldemort himself? How will he be dealt with?" Bones asked.

"We'll take care of that," Harry declared confidently.

Bones chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully and her eyes came to rest on Harry.

"There's more going on here then I'm comfortable with," she said eventually. "I've been watching you carefully, Mr Potter, ever since you so cleverly wrapped Fudge around your little finger after the Triwizard Tournament. You've been carefully gathering allies for the last year, I gather. I suspect this information about Fudge, for instance, came courtesy of Miss Weasley's brother and his fiancé."

"You knew who I was before I walked in the door, didn't you?" Ginny said accusingly.

"Of course, my dear girl, I'm not totally without resources, you know," Bones admitted calmly. "I'll be honest, I've taken a great interest in Mr Potter, here. You might see me as a potential means of cleaning up the Ministry, but I see him as a solution for cleaning up the whole Wizarding world, the British part of it, anyway. He has the potential to be what Dumbledore should have been: a beacon of light in a dark world. I confess, I thought to ally myself with you even before you entered this office, Mr Potter, and I'm immensely pleased to see that you have already planned for this eventuality."

"I have no interest in becoming a leader," Harry stated flatly. "My job is to get rid of Voldemort and after that I just want a quiet life."

"Some people seek greatness and others have it thrust upon them," Bones observed. "In my experience, it is generally the latter group that do the best job. As much as you might want to ignore it, people will always look up to you and seek your leadership, Mr Potter, my niece is evidence of that. But you don't have to do everything alone."

"Does this mean you'll agree to stand for Minister?" Sirius pressed.

"I want more information before I agree unequivocally, but yes, in principal. Now I know what's at stake, I feel I have no choice," she agreed.

"Welcome to the party," Sirius grinned.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Amelia Bones arrived at Grimmauld Place at around eight o'clock that evening. Dobby met her at the door and ushered her to the main dining room where Sirius, Harry and Ginny were waiting for her.

"Ah, Amelia, so delighted you could join us. Would you care for some refreshment?" Sirius asked as she entered.

"I'm fine, thank you, Mr Black," Madam Bones replied taking the seat offered to her.

"Oh, please, do call me Sirius," he insisted, offering his most seductive smile.

"Mr Black, I am sure there are many witches who find you debonair and charming. I, however, am not one of them. Let's keep this relationship on a professional footing, shall we?" Bones informed coolly.

"Oh, crash and burn!" Harry sniggered quietly.

"I was merely trying to be friendly! I meant nothing by it!" Sirius spluttered.

"Sorry, Madam Bones, he can't help himself. He's a few weeks away from being married and he still can't stop himself flirting with any woman he meets," Ginny said with a smirk.

"Although if Eva catches him doing it he'll soon change his ways," Harry added, grinning openly at his godfather.

"Bloody hell, I… look, I can assure you Madam Bones that I was merely being courteous. Indeed, my fiancé is just in the other room and you will meet her in just a moment," Sirius protested.

"I will indeed look forward to meeting your intended," Madam Bones confirmed with a faint smile. "I suspect the woman must have the patience of a saint and I always enjoy meeting virtuous people."

"Oh, she's going to fit in our group perfectly," Harry said admiringly.

"Definitely," Ginny giggled.

"Yes, well, if we could continue?" Sirius said in a disgruntled voice. Madam Bones merely winked in Harry and Ginny's direction before turning her attention back to Sirius.

"Quite. Well, I've given the matter some thought and I can confirm that I'm still prepared to consider standing for the post of Minister of Magic," Bones confirmed, turning serious. "I do, however, want to know what exactly has been going on. I've spent most of the afternoon going over all the information I have about you three and I'm starting to see a definite pattern forming. You seem to be in the habit of using Ministry officials for your own needs. Fudge was neatly convinced to change his stance regarding giving Mr Black here a fair trial, and Umbridge was manoeuvred into making sweeping reforms at Hogwarts. What exactly am I being lined up to do for you?"

"We already told you what we want," Harry replied. "We're not interested in trying to take over the country or force our views on other people, but we do want to make Wizarding Britain a better place to live."

"Voldemort will return, and by becoming Minister you could do much to weaken him and his forces so we can deal with him easily," Ginny added.

"You said it yourself, many of his supporters remain in positions of power and they are corrupting Britain," Sirius reminded her. "We need to root out the criminals and blood extremists, and replace them with fair and honest people."

"Alright, I'm in total agreement with you so far, but I still have many questions," Madam Bones replied cagily.

"And we have much to tell you," Harry confirmed, "but we'll need an Unbreakable Vow that what we say will remain secret."

"An Unbreakable Vow?" Bones repeated in surprise. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"Everyone in our little group has given such a vow, and not one of them has regretted it," Ginny insisted.

"Really? And if I give this vow will I find out why a fourteen-year-old girl appears to be at the centre of all this?" Madam Bones asked pointedly.

"Oh, yes. You'll find both Harry and Ginny are full of surprises," Sirius grinned.

"Very well," Bones sighed. "I can't really fault your caution. Such security measures are a good idea and I do understand that such an undertaking offers me protection as much as it does you. I will undertake your vow."

The Unbreakable Vow was given and then Harry, Ginny and Sirius proceeded to tell Madam Bones everything, from Voldemort's Horcruxes to the recent break-in at Malfoy Manor, no detail was spared. Bones sat in impassive silence while they explained everything. Once they had finished, she looked at each of them keenly.

"Well, this information is at once both better and worse than I was expecting. These Horcruxes of Voldemort's are a complete nightmare and I only hope your proposed method of finding them works," Bones exclaimed. "I am, however, given hope by the rest of what you've told me. Quite a lot of things suddenly make sense to me and I'm gratified that you've found so many solutions to your problems."

"So, will you accept our help and stand against Scrimgeour?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I will," Bones said decisively. "Finally, we have the chance to make real, lasting changes to the Wizarding world, most of which have been long overdue."

"Superb," Sirius said smiling. "Well, on that note, I think you should meet the rest of our little group. Dobby, would you be so kind as to ask the others to join us?"

A few minutes later, the others all filed into the room. Bones noted each of them in turn with a vaguely amused expression on her face.

"So many children?" she noted with a raised eyebrow, "and one of my own Aurors, too, I note!"

Tonks flushed with embarrassment.

"Don't underestimate certain members of our group because of their age," Sirius informed her. "Everyone here brings a certain skill or talent with them. Take our youngest member here, Luna Lovegood. Not only does Luna bring a unique perspective on the world that has been a major help at times, but her father runs The Quibbler, thus giving us a means of distributing information outside of the virtually government-run Daily Prophet. She's just an example of the diversity we have represented here."

"We have everything from a curse-breaker to a Metamorphmagus, a Veela to an Animagus," Harry announced proudly.

"We've been able to keep tabs on what's happening within the Ministry and within Dumbledore's private army," Ginny added. "Most of what we've done so far has been in preparation for when we take the fight to Voldemort and his followers. Pretty soon, we're planning on moving against the evil git and taking him out forever. We'll be relying on you to ensure that his like never again have the power to cause so much damage and heartache."

Madam Bones looked at each of the group in turn with a mysterious look on her face. Eventually, she turned to face Ginny again.

"Well, we'd better start making some plans then, hadn't we?" she said with a faint grin.

Ginny's answering smile was like the sun coming up.